RESUMEN
Background: Patients with recurrent brain metastases who have exhausted external radiation options pose a treatment challenge in the setting of advances in systemic disease control which have improved quality of life and survival. Brachytherapy holds promise as salvage therapy given its ability to enforce surgical cytoreduction and minimize regional toxicity. This study investigates the role of salvage brachytherapy in maintaining local control for recurrent metastatic lesions. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed our institution's experience with brachytherapy in patients with multiply recurrent cerebral metastases who have exhausted external radiation treatment options (14 cases). The primary outcome of the study was freedom from local recurrence (FFLR). To capture the nuances of tumor biology, we compared FFLR achieved by brachytherapy to the preceding treatment for each patient. We further compared the response to brachytherapy in patients with lung cancer (8 cases) against a matched cohort of maximally radiated lung brain metastases (10 cases). Results: Brachytherapy treatment conferred significantly longer FFLR compared to prior treatments (median 7.39 vs 5.51 months, P = .011) for multiply recurrent brain metastases. Compared to an independent matched cohort, brachytherapy demonstrated superior FFLR (median 8.49 vs 1.61 months, P = .004) and longer median overall survival (11.07 vs 5.93 months, P = .055), with comparable side effects. Conclusion: Brachytherapy used as salvage treatment for select patients with a multiply recurrent oligometastatic brain metastasis in the setting of well-controlled systemic disease holds promise for improving local control in this challenging patient population.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of aqueous and 70% methanolic extracts of pollen grains of Typha angustifolia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Female Sprague Dawley rats were used for the study. The acute anti-inflammatory activity of pollen grains of T. angustifolia was studied using the carrageenan as phlogistic agent, whereas its chronic anti-inflammatory effect was investigated by the percentage inhibition of cotton pellet-induced granuloma. RESULTS: Both aqueous and 70% methanolic extracts of pollen grains of T. angustifolia showed significant dose-dependent inhibition of carrageenan-induced paw edema as compared to the control (P<0.001). It was observed that both the extracts at dose of 125 mg/kg inhibited the granuloma formation by 44.30% which is higher than at dose of 500, 250 mg/kg, thus causing a significant (P<0.001) non-dose-related inhibition of granuloma formation. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that extracts of pollen grains of T. angustifolia are effective in the treatment of both acute and chronic inflammatory conditions and thus support its traditional utilization.